all your report are belong to us

A long time ago in a metagame far, far away... I played 5c Stax and it was
glorious!

You might think I'm crazy and the deck is far-fetched, but to me this deck is
the epitome of fun in Vintage.  It's a direct result of my experiences in the
last two years since coming back to play Vintage Magic.  People have their pet
decks and this IS my pet deck.  I would like to share with you a few of these
card choices and then what ensued during Sunday's event in Atlantic City.

2015 5c Stax

Maindeck:
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Ratchet Bomb
3 Sphere of Resistance
1 Trinisphere
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Tangle Wire
4 Smokestack
1 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Duplicant
1 Triskelion
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Sundering Titan
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Tinker
2 Dack Fayden
1 Crop Rotation
4 Goblin Welder
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Gemstone Mine
4 Mana Confluence
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland

Sideboard:
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Balance
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Homeward Path
1 Pithing Needle
3 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
2 Tormod's Crypt

1.) Ratchet Bomb - This shrinks the board back down to a manageable size to help
magnify Smokestack's effect and opens up pesky Chalices on 0 or 1, locking you
out.
2.) Threat Package (Karn, Dupe, Trike, Wurm, Titan) - The package is not
permanent, but does a good enough job securing board position and mostly has an
immediate impact once in play.  Wurmcoil Engine is a necessary evil to help the
deck stabilize from too much loss of life.
3.) 4-Sphere Package - With only 4 sphere-effects in the deck, it's definitely
light on disruption.  Reason being, it allows for the rest of the deck to
function while establishing soft and incremental locks.
4.) Dack Fayden - Combine this with a Welder in play and it shines.  It is an
excellent addition that allows for the deck to push through late game stall
outs.
5.) Crop Rotation - This was originally Chromatic Lantern, but I audibled and
wanted an extra way to access Strip Mine or a Tabernacle.
6.) Goblin Welder - Just 1 weld can make all the difference.
7.) Ancient Grudge - One in the main allows for some quick response to opponents
hinting at a Vault/Key plan.  It also opens up the door against Null
Rod/Chalices pinning you down.
8.) Cavern of Souls - This was just a cute addition to help resolve my Welders
or one of the five bots.  Welder gets through Chalice at 1 here as well.
9.) Chalice of the Void - These are in the sideboard.  It's a personal
preference and I just enjoy knowing that these are ready for me to unleash on
opponents when I know for sure that I'm on the play (games 2 or 3).  That's
where they seem to do the most damage.
10.) Homeward Path - *Forino Tech Alert* - Stolen bots via Dack, come back!

Sunday's GPAC Vintage Plus Event


Round 1 - Oath
I took g1 down with a Tinker to 3-sphere, followed by a Smokestack.  Games 2 and
3, I proceed to lose to Vault/Key combo, courtesy of a Griselbrand.
Record: 0-1

Round 2 - BYE
I spent this round counting up the number of Oath players in the room (6 to be
exact) and proceed to watch folks have fun playing sanctioned Vintage.
Record: 1-1

Round 3 - Oath
Hoping to redeem myself and have a good match, I get 2-0'd by another Oath
player.  I'm convinced the hands I kept were simply suboptimal for combating
Oath and I should have mulliganed more aggressively to search for something
better.  After the miserable 1-2 start, I had just about given up and seriously
contemplated dropping.  Obviously, I decided against it, in hopes that I would
play against something other than Oath.
Record: 1-2

Round 4 - Landstill
I got paired up with my old friend, JR.  He had a 2-1 record and I had a 1-2
record.  We played it out because I wanted to compete and see what crazy
shenanigans I could pull out against his control deck.  In one of our games, I
managed to land a Trinisphere after he landed a Crucible.  The following turn,
he tapped out his mana to cast a Standstill.  On my turn, I break the
Standstill, resolving a Trinisphere-protected Dack Fayden to steal the Crucible
and then proceeded to control the game from there.  It was a 2-0 victory and I
immediately find out from JD Nir that because of my win, I opened up the door
for two X-2's to make the cut to top 8. 
Record: 2-2

Round 5 - Merfolk
This round did not really count since my opponent was clearly new to Vintage and
he made it that far without power in his deck.  His inexperience showed with
some play decisions that allowed for me to win game 1, even after a mull to 4. 
My g1 hand was Mana Crypt, Mana Confluence, Tinker, and Tangle Wire.  I knew he
was on Merfolk, so I felt the safest route was to extend the game and crush
through with Wurmcoil Engine via turn 1 Tinker.  Sure enough, he had a Wasteland
waiting for my remaining mana source, but 4 or 5 turns later, he ran out of
chump blockers.  Game 2 included a timely Balance, which knocked out two of his
cards in hand as well as his small army.  He didn't recover from the Hymn-Wrath.
Record: 3-2

Cut to Top 8 - 8th Place after 5 Rounds of Swiss

Quarterfinals vs 1st Seed and my 1st Round Opponent Kenan Diab (Oath)
I do my Tangle Wire + Smokestack thing to him and he's eventually left with
nothing on board.  In game 2, I get lock components in play, but manage to keep
him off just enough mana, landing a Cage, Chalice on 2, and using Tangle Wires
to keep him 1 mana off from casting his Show and Tells.  I won this in a quick 2
games, somewhat redeeming myself from my losses to Oath earlier in the day.

Semifinals vs Will Dayton (Terra Nova)
FINALLY, the matchup I had been waiting for - another shops deck!  In theory, my
deck was more resilient, provided it had a chance to breathe and not die too
quickly.  Martello technically has that advantage over Terra Nova, but what
Terra Nova gives up in a speedy kill, it makes up for with harder lock pieces. 
More sphere-effects and Null Rods push many players out of maintaining any board
state, denying most forms of acceleration. 

Sitting across from me was a seasoned Terra Nova player who had previously
beaten me with some pretty relentless aggro-MUD plays including multiple
Lodestone Golems.  However, this time, I was prepared to shock him and
steal/weld out his best threats.

In game 1, Will managed to land a quick Chalice on 0 to shut out my quick
acceleration, followed by sphere effects.  The sphere effects pushed my game out
so much that I had to discard a Duplicant.  A few turns later, while I struggled
to build a board and mana, he dropped in his Lodestone Golem to start swinging
in for the kill.  With a clock and time running out, I played a Smokestack to
start eating away at his board, tapping my Mana Confluence sparingly to try and
delay the inevitable.  He continues to bash in, getting me down to 8, which puts
me almost completely out of reach.  With a little luck, I top-decked a Goblin
Welder and threw the sucker into play immediately through the Lodestone and
Sphere of Resistance in play on his side.  On Will's turn, he swings in to bring
me down to 2 and then passes.  On my turn, I welded in my Duplicant to remove
the threat and proceed to take over the game from the brink of death.  That game
was quite honestly one of the hardest-fought victories I've ever had,
considering the uber-complex board state involving a Smokestack at 3 and new
Wires coming in and out of play.  Game 2 was not as eventful, but once I landed
Dack Fayden on turn 2 or 3, Will conceded on the spot.

Sorry, but there wasn't a Finals match played.
After a long day (and weekend), Vasu and I decided to split the crazy loot and
we each walked away with 820 tickets, which equated to 82 packs of Khans.  He
generously offered me the recorded win and I took it.

Looking back, I somehow managed to squeak into the top 8, edging out JD Nir by
3.33% in my tiebreakers.  The deck is clearly a work in progress, but truly an
exciting list for me to play.  Its intricate lines of play require a good feel
of the metagame and format, reminiscent of my 2005 list.  The new additions and
card choices in the latest list have been influenced heavily by what I have felt
and seen in the last two years.  Dack Fayden still remains an enemy, but is
incredible as my ally in this build. 

I hope you enjoyed the read and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

-Roland